Two well known problems in commerce are (a) surplus stock, wherein a vendor is not able to efficiently sell all the available stock, and is left with surplus commodity for which he is not able to receive reasonable compensation and have to pay significant amount for storage and/or maintenance; and (b) irreversible customer desertion, occurring when customers decide not to purchase the commodity even when desirable because of an unaffordable price, and can not be easily reached later for discount sales. Following are but few examples for realization of such problems.
As for products that are deserted in the store, stores remain with stock at the end of the season and there is no efficient way to sell the stock. Today there is no way to bring back to the store customers who deserted or to track their needs. The store has no information about the nature of deserting customers and the reason for deserting. Deserting a product is totally different from deserting the store and reasons might reveal the way to retain the customers.
Buying products and particularly fashion items is characterized by walking through stores and trying on until finding the item. With women the distances covered in the store and the number of stores visited until making the purchase is great. At the beginning of the season the percentage of store desertion is greater due to the price level and the vast selection. Because of the high percentage of desertion, the number of transactions closed within the stores visited is small. Despite the desertion the desired product remains in the customer's memory over time and he is sometimes interested in the item at a reduced price. Customers are prepared to compromise on the time of receiving the product. In the current situation, end of season sales present the customers with piles of items and do not present the customer with the items he searched for. At the end of the season the product is transferred to stock and the customer is again prevented from finding it.
As for seats that remain empty at events (e.g. plays, concerts, flights, etc.), Close to the date of the event suppliers remain with stock of tickets. They have no efficient manner to sell them and the event takes place with empty seats. Many buyers are interested in culture and are willing to see a play at the last minute call, likewise for flights. Some buyers are less picky about the type of play, type of concert or type of flight but limit the price that they are willing to pay. These buyers desert when faced with a high price and might return at “end of season” price if get the opportunity.
Despite the desertion, the desired product remains in the customer's memory over time and he is interested in the item at a reduced price. The current system does not bring together the customer and the supplier. At the time of the event, the empty seats are discarded, at great damage to profit.
As for customer effort in internet shopping, a customer who looks for products on the internet exerts considerable effort. The customer does not have sufficient tools to find and identify products that he saw in the store. The percentage of internet shopping is still low, with the purchase of fashion items and furniture far lower than the purchase of electrical appliances. For fashion items the store serves as an essential station in the purchase. The percentage of purchases on the store's designated website is marginal. Stores lose huge sales potential from buyers who do not find the items they wanted. Identifying store products in store web or in store catalogues requires imagination rather than simple code numbers. Complexity instead of simplicity makes shopper give up internet shopping especially fashion.
Therefore, there is a need for reliable and simple means of selling items.